Browsing the March 2018 archive of NOTES FROM THE DESK OF....

When I was a kid, Doris Day’s song Que sera, sera was popular. In the song, the singer asks her mother about the future, (will I be pretty?; will I be rich?) and her mother answers, “que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be; the future’s not ours to ... Read More »

At 1:00 p.m. on Holy Saturday, we will once again be blessing food baskets. Since not everyone is familiar with this beautiful Eastern European custom, a word of explanation is offered here. A particular symbolism is attached to each food placed in the traditional Easter basket. The Pascha, or ... Read More »

What We Did During Lent: Lasting Memories of Lent Most members in my family abstained from candy during Lent. My share of the little candy we got I put in a cigar box and put it under my bed. Easter was a sweet time. We girls (five or fewer) ... Read More »

Have you ever had the honor of sitting with and talking with someone who was preparing for their final Passover, i.e., preparing for death? It is an awesome privilege when people share their hopes, fears, and faith at that moment of life. Often times we don’t talk openly about ... Read More »

The last official census of the parish was made just after the merger and creation of the new parish in 2010. It is recommended that parishes update their records every few years, so we will be doing that soon. We will be asking ALL parishioners to fill out the ... Read More »

What We Did During Lent: “Lasting Values” I come from a large and very Catholic family, and growing up I felt my parents were “too religious;” during lent; this feeling was especially common for all the children in our family. We were allowed meat only once a day and ... Read More »

Inserted into last week’s bulletin was the summary of what I heard in the listening sessions held at the end of January. This summary has been shared with the Pastoral Council, the four Commissions (Worship, Education, Christian Service, and Discipleship) and now with the whole parish. Each commission has ... Read More »

What We Did During Lent: Pray for Faith and Wait for God About 25 years ago, a member of my extended family was going through a very difficult time, it was like life and death for him. Seeing the bad shape he was in, I asked God how could ... Read More »

Last Friday was March 2. In my family, and in my personal life, that is a very special day. It was/is my Mom’s birthday! Were she on earth today she would be 101 years old. Last year was the big 100! It was also the anniversary of my ... Read More »

Our Lent practice when I was a kid was partly to “behave ourselves better!”

Other “requirements, requests” were like: Do a good deed each day, a kindness (especially if we didn’t want to do it.) Pray for someone who needs it (to help us recognize that others had troubles ... Read More »